THE NEW HUSBAND

Nina Garrity’s new boyfriend might not be all he seems.

More than a year ago, Nina’s husband, Glen, disappeared from his fishing boat on a Saturday morning, leaving behind evidence of a torrid affair and a drained bank account but no body. When Simon Fitch, the social studies teacher at her daughter’s middle school, comes into the picture, it seems like something is finally going right. When Nina and her kids move in with Simon, however, cracks in their relationship begin to appear. Nina decides to get a job to help support her family, but Simon is very much against it. Nina finds herself second-guessing a lot of her decisions in the face of his kind but firm resistance. Maggie, Nina’s daughter, absolutely hates Simon and refuses to play nice. Her son, Connor, is fine with the situation, but Maggie is convinced Simon has something out for their family. As time marches on and both Simon and Maggie reach the ends of their ropes, Nina has to decide whom to believe. In a twisty novel that never lets up, Palmer (Saving Meghan, 2019, etc.) has crafted a narrative that explores domestic violence and family trust in an interesting way. Switching between Nina's and Maggie’s points of view lets the reader see different sides to Simon, a character who doesn’t quite reveal himself until midway through the novel with a big, unexpected twist. Though it's sometimes frustrating how easily Nina lets Simon off the hook and Maggie’s voice doesn’t always sound quite right for a middle schooler, the way the novel always answers questions with more questions makes it hard to put down. Clues are cleverly laced throughout, keeping one guessing.

A well-crafted, increasingly tense page-turner.